Shannon Brown Has Left Town (For Now)

We suspected this was coming, but it's now official. Shannon Brown has opted out of the last year of his contract, electing to become a free agent. He would've made $2.37 million next season had he agreed to stay with the purple and gold.

This doesn't necessarily spell the end of Shannon's time with the Lakers. He could still sign a new deal with the team, and if you recall, this is exactly what happened a year ago. After the 2009-10 season, he opted out of the last year of his contract. After several weeks went by in which neither he nor the team could find better alternatives on the free-agent market, he reupped with the Lakers. That could certainly happen again, and in fact both he and his agent say a return to the Lakers is something he'd consider.

But would the Lakers consider bringing him back? Possibly, but it's far from assured.

This wasn't a terrific season for Shannon. After a blistering start he faded badly, and I think at this point we can rule out the possibility that he'll ever develop into a quality starter. There are worse bench players in the league, to be sure, but the Lakers just drafted a pair of guards, and it would be nice to start developing a backcourt for the future. If you bring back Shannon, he soaks up playing time that would otherwise go to Darius Morris and Andrew Goudelock, which doesn't strike me as a good use of resources.

In any case, there won't be any movement on this front until the lockout that's about to descend on the league is resolved. For the time being, here's your Laker depth chart.

(a) - Drafted but unsigned.
(b) - Unguaranteed for next season.        

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